We’re all obsessed with Drag Race for two main reasons: the fierce lewks and the messy drama. Lucky for us, the newest controversy the queens are involved in has both.
In case you have been out of the loop, Lushious Massacr, Bob the Drag Queen, and Monét X Change have been playfully feuding over whether or not drag queens should attend events out of drag.
What started as an off-handed remark on a podcast has turned into an ongoing controversy with other RuGirls weighing in and the general public taking sides in comment sections.
But why are the queens battling it out? Here is everything you need to know about the debate currently raging in the drag community.
What did Lushious Massacr say about drag?
Drag queen Lushious Massacr, who was a makeup artist on Drag Race Mexico and won an Emmy for her work on We’re Here, started the controversy off with a sassy remark when she appeared as a guest on Drag Race icon Bob the Drag Queen’s podcast Only Child.
“I don’t like it when drag queens get to a point where they feel like they are so famous they don’t have to get into drag anymore,” she said. “I don’t like it, Bob.”
Bob clearly took it as the read it was likely intended as and responded, “Are you talking about me? I do drag!”
This whole exchange happened while Lushious was in full drag and Bob was in her boy clothes. Bob and Monét X Change both frequently record their podcasts and attend celebrity events out of drag.
Did Lushious Massacr double down?
In a red carpet interview with Out’s own Ricky Cornish, Lushious put a finer point on the debate when she brought up drag as resistance in the face of the current political climate.
“I think right now the girls are devolving,” she said. “Maybe it’s time to take a break and then come back when you’re ready to get in drag because we need you to get in drag, little girls. This country needs more drag queens. We don’t need less! With everything going on in this country, I need these men to get in drag.”
Did Bob the Drag Queen clap back with a song?
In response to the debate Lushious sparked, Bob released a rap song on June 26 called “I Do Drag,” where she clapped back with a music video showing her in a comic book-style fight with Lushious.
Bob, who took home the crown on Drag Race season 8, reads Lushious for filth with the line, “I was doing drag, you were shitting in a diaper,” before calling her out for being a fan. “Bitch talking about, ‘It’s giving man,’ b*tch you forgot you’re the motherf**king fan.”
In the song, Bob also says that she’s not going to go to the effort of getting in drag unless she’s getting paid to do so. “Don’t get dressed unless I see the bag,” she raps. And reminds Lushious that she’s been doing drag for decades. “Don’t speak words to me, shush. I was doing drag under President Bush,” Bob raps.
How did Monét X Change respond?
Monét, who won All Stars 4, picked up the debate again in a video posted to YouTube on July 20, where she addressed the growing controversy.
“If I sell you a ticket to a drag show, that’s a promise to be in drag, but when you go to the Spider-Man movie premiere, that’s the entertainers preference to show up however they want to be,” she said. “Tom Holland can be whatever he wants to be on that day, and that’s his prerogative. And I think that simply is not true for drag queens. And not for nothing, check the material baby. The look is eating in or out of drag.”
A clip from the video that was reposted went viral on X, and the comment section quickly filled with people saying that Monét isn’t famous enough to be out of drag at events.
What have the other RuGirls said?
Some of their fellow Drag Race stars waded into the debate in the cheekiest way possible. Nicky Doll, Kandy Muse, and Jackie Cox all posted a photo of themselves sporting “I’m in Drag” shirts instead of actually being in drag at a Stop! That! Train! event.
The queens turned the cute read into a money-making opportunity by posting a link selling the shirts along with the caption, “And if you don’t feel like getting in geish, get yourself your « I’M IN DRAG » shirt after all, we were all born naked and the rest is drag, right?”
Why are Monét and Bob getting hate from fans?
Bob and Monét have been appearing out of drag for years on their podcast and at red carpet events. They even showed up without their drag personas to an event for Stop! That! Train!, a movie about drag queens, starring real-life drag queens in drag, including Monét.
The debate raged on in the comment section under the photo from the event, with some fans agreeing with Lushious and reading them for filth for showing up out of drag, and others defending them.
The controversy seems to boil down to two things: drag queens are famous for their drag personas and so they should show up in drag, with other people arguing that they don’t need to go through all of that unless they are getting paid to be in drag.
There is an argument to be made that the two rose to fame on a reality TV show hosted by a drag queen who spends half of every episode out of drag, but people in the comments were quick to point out that they are not as famous as RuPaul Charles, and no one knows their real names.
